Improvement in folding book-cases



E. HASKELL.

Folding Book-Gases.

No, 138,022 PatentedApril22,1873.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EZRA HASKELL, OF DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOLDING BOOK-CASES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 138,022, dated April2'2, 1873 application filed September 4, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EZRA HASKELL, of Do ver, in the county of Straifordand State of New Hampshire, have invented certain Improvements inFolding Book-Cases, of which the following is a full, exact, and cleardescription:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bookcase. Fig. 2 is a front-edgeView of one of the sides. Fig. 3 is a view of one of the shelves withback attached by hinges. Fig. 4 is a view of the shelf and back foldedtogether.

The object of my improvement is to render the book-case more portable,and, at the same time, less liable to sustain injury. It is exceedinglydesirable that a book-case be so constructed that it can quickly betaken apart and put into asmall compass for transportation, and asquickly set up again, and all without injury to the book-case, thoughthe operation he often repeated.

That others skilled in the art may understand and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the perspective view, Fig. 1, the sides A and B are cut in two at themiddle of their length, and hinged on the inside to admit foldingtogether when the shelves are removed, as in the case of packing. Thesesides have a compound groove in them, as seen in Fig. 2, G O. Thiscompound groove consists of a plain square groove with a smaller groovecut in its upper half. Ordinarily it .is simply a saw-scarf. This is toadmit a projecting iron band, a, fastened to the end of the shelf tohold it in place instead of a dovetail, which is liable to shrink andlet the case fall apart. The shelves E are made of plain boards, with apiece of band-iron, one-quarter inch wider than the shelf is thick,attached to its ends by screws. This shelf has its back attached to itby hinges, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3, D D. When the shelf is in place theback is held in position by the hinges. Vhen the book-case is taken downfor removal or shipment the shelf and back are folded together, as seenin Fig. 4. The upright sides, also, being folded, the whole can be putin a box of small dimensions and transported, at the pleasure of theowner, without damage. A fullsize book-case, seven and a half feet highand four feet Wide, can be packed by this arrangement into a box butfour feet long and fourteen by sixteen inches square.

Claim.

- What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The combination of the upright folding sides A B and grooves O with theshelves and backs E having the projections a, as and for the purposespecified.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 27th day ofAugust, 1872.

EZRA HASKELL.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. WHITE, UHAs. W. BARTLETT.

